Uber’s exit: Nigeria becoming graveyard for businesses under

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said exit of global ride-hailing brand Uber from Nigeria, alongside the closure or scaling down of some major international companies, in the country was an indication that the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration is allegedly turning the country into a “graveyard of businesses.”

The ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the growing list of businesses shutting down, scaling down or leaving the country had exposed the widening gap between the government’s claims of economic progress and the reality confronting businesses and ordinary Nigerians.

The party said it was surprising to see the Federal Government celebrating a marginal 0.2 percentage points improvement in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), at a time when businesses are closing, jobs are disappearing and millions of Nigerians are sinking deeper into poverty.

It argued that while the government celebrates a marginal improvement of 0.2 percentage points, Nigeria’s poverty rate has snowballed to 63 percent, affecting an estimated 140 million Nigerians.

The ADC stated that “when the President and his party say things are getting better, we expect them to tell us what has improved in the lives of Nigerians. They should tell us how much food their GDP growth has put on the table. They should tell us which bill it has paid. If 0.2 percent is a mark of success in their books, President Tinubu and APC should tell us what they consider as failure.”

According to the opposition party, Uber’s exit after 12 years in the country, reflects the alleged  increasingly hostile operating environment confronting businesses, especially the soaring cost of energy and transportation, “with the price of fuel rising by as much as 1,700 percent following the removal of fuel subsidy and devaluation of Naira.

“This is precisely why the ADC presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has proposed the restoration of a targeted fuel subsidy to bring down the cost of fuel, transportation and production.”

The ADC referenced a report by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), which indicated that 767 manufacturing companies, including 20 iconic global brands, had shut down or ceased operations in Nigeria, since 2023 when President Tinubu assumed office.

The party noted that listed among the companies that had shut down or scaled down operations in the country were Microsoft, Jumia and Bolt Food, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi-Aventis, Bayer AG, Procter & Gamble and Unilever and PZ Cussons, among others.

“Therefore, when the President announces that Nigeria has turned the corner, we wonder which corner he is talking about. If indeed the economy is improving or the slightest hope exists in the minds of those who run these businesses that this APC government can improve the economy, why are they closing shops and moving elsewhere?

“The painful truth is that Tinubu has turned Nigeria into a graveyard for businesses. Every business that shuts down or pulls out is a vote of no confidence in the Tinubu administration and its capacity to manage the economy. Each exit delivers a blow to the economy. But perhaps, more importantly, each one represents a massive loss of jobs and increased poverty.

“Therefore, when APC and its government celebrate even the most negligible shift in GDP numbers and flaunt that as evidence to show that things are getting better, they are immediately contradicted by the painful reality that Nigerians are getting poorer and hungrier. Those who had jobs yesterday are not sure how long it will take before their employers close shop, and those earning salaries are struggling even to transport themselves to work,” the party stated.